


i'll always hold your hand in the car

by RhymeReason



Series: After [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AFTG Mixtape Exchange 2021, M/M, Song fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:13:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29097087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhymeReason/pseuds/RhymeReason
Summary: [Andrew turned left at the entrance onto the main road, the opposite direction of Abby’s.Neil raised his eyebrows at him. “And I take it that's not where we are going?”“Nope.”“You gonna tell me where we are going exactly?”“Nope.”]
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Series: After [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1935790
Comments: 11
Kudos: 101
Collections: AFTG Mixtape Exchange 2021





	i'll always hold your hand in the car

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fuzzballsheltiepants](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuzzballsheltiepants/gifts).



> This is my half of the mixtape exchange! I took some liberties and kinda just went off the vibe of the song, but I hope you enjoy it!!
> 
> The song its inspired by (and that the title is from) is Outnumbered by Dermot Kennedy

Andrew was waiting for him when he left the stadium. The sun was setting but the summer heat was still sitting low, making Neil sweat despite the shower he just finished. Andrew was leaning against the Maserati, still dressed in black despite the heat and just nodded when he spotted Neil before climbing back into the car. Neil took that as his cue to climb in too.

“Where’s Kevin?” He asked.

“Walking back to Abby’s.” Andrew said as he put the car into drive. He turned left at the entrance onto the main road, the opposite direction of Abby’s.

Neil raised his eyebrows at him. “And I take it that's not where we are going?”

“Nope.” 

“You gonna tell me where we are going exactly?”

“Nope.” And with that, Andrew turned onto the highway.

Neil rolled his eyes but smiled. Wherever it was that Andrew was taking them was fine with him. It was the summer before Andrew’s final year as a Fox and the only things on the docket was to practice and spend time with Andrew and he had already spent a large chunk of the day practicing. He was ready to just sit around and relax with his boyfriend.

Andrew reached out to turn up the radio, drowning out any possible conversation they could have. Neil mentally shrugged. It didn’t matter to him if they talked as they drove but there was something strange about the action. Andrew’s shoulders were tense, imperceptible to anyone besides Neil. There was something on his mind, something that he didn’t like but the radio made it clear that he wasn’t going to talk about it yet. That was fine with Neil. He wouldn’t push but he would make sure that he was ready whenever Andrew decided that he wanted to talk.

They made it as far as Columbia before Andrew turned off the highway and began driving down unfamiliar roads. They left the city behind quickly and headed out into the countryside as the sun set and the night sky bloomed with small pinpricks of silver light, each one growing brighter as they left the city’s light pollution behind.

When Andrew finally stopped, it was in front of an old dilapidated farmhouse, all of the windows boarded up and no lights for as far as Neil could see. Andrew turned off the car and got out wordlessly. Neil followed and watched as Andrew opened the trunk and pulled out a -- basket. 

Neil looked at him incredulously. “Are we having a picnic under the stars?”

Andrew paused and looked at him, one eyebrow raised. “What does it look like?”

“Looks like we are having a picnic under the stars.”

“Does it count as a picnic if the only thing in here is a bottle of whiskey?” Andrew asked.

Neil shrugged. “Probably. Not like I’ve ever been on a picnic to compare it to. Did you bring a blanket?”

“I stole one from Nicky, yes.”

“Perfect.”

Andrew turned and began walking out into the empty field, the basket swinging from his hand. Neil walked beside him, his hand brushing up against Andrews. Andrew’s twitched but did not reach out the way it usually did. Neil frowned. He didn’t really care that Andrew wasn’t taking his hand but something was wrong. He racked his brain for anything that might’ve put Andrew in a sour mood. Kevin might’ve said something to piss him off but even that wouldn’t cause this. Was it something him and Bee had talked about? That seemed more likely but even so, Neil drew up a blank.

Andrew stayed silent as he laid out the shitty old blanket he stole from Nicky and pulled out the bottle of whiskey. Neil did the same as they sat down. Several long minutes passed before Neil finally broke the silence.

“Andrew.” He said simply. He knew that Andrew would understand what he was getting at.

“There's a contract in the glove box of the car.” Andrew said eventually. His hand curled in his lap and it took everything in Neil not to reach out and grab it. 

He curled his hand into a fist instead and tried to keep his voice steady. “What’s the contract for?”

“A starting spot on Chicago’s team next season.” Andrew wasn’t looking at him, instead staring up at the sky. Neil couldn’t bring himself to do the same.

“Are you going to sign it?” He asked

Andrew shrugged

“What’s stopping you?”

“You.” Andrew finally turned to look at him. His face was expressionless but Neil knew better than to mistake that for a lack of emotion. The blankness only proved that Andrew was feeling something that he doesn’t want to be. He just had to figure out what exactly it is.

“What about me?” 

“It’s a thirteen hour drive between Chicago and Palmetto.” Andrew said instead. 

A thought clicks into place. Neil cocked his head to the side. “Oh.”

“Oh what?”

“You’re scared of losing me.”

Silence hung between them, Andrew just looking at Neil, his face betraying nothing. Neil schooled his face into a similar expression.

Andrew broke first. He looked back up at the stars with a small scowl. It was strangely endearing. “I hate it when you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Cut away all of the excess to find the core of the problem and then blurt it out like a third grader who finally remembered that two plus two equals four.”

“I’m pretty sure most third graders are up to multiplication.”

“Did you go to the third grade?”

Neil hated that he had to think about it. “Yeah, pretty sure. You’re like, what eight in the third grade, right?”

“Yes.” Andrew said. His hand twitched. Neil’s hand twitched in return but he shoved it under his thigh. He knew that the motion did not go unnoticed by Andrew.

He took a deep breath. “Andrew. Do you want to sign that contract?”

“I want no-” Andrew cut himself off. Neil knew that him and Bee had been spending a lot of time talking through the idea that it was okay for Andrew to want things. It wasn’t all the way there yet but it was coming along. Neil was proud of him for it, even if he knew that wasn’t necessarily something wanted to hear right now.

“I don’t know what I want.” Andrew said instead. 

That brought Neil up short. Andrew, for all of his faults and all of his insistence that he didn’t want anything, was always very sure of himself. He didn’t expect or want much out his life and was sure of that. This was new and Neil couldn't figure out how he was supposed to react to that.

He took a risk.

“That’s alright.” He said, giving a simple shrug. 

Andrew narrowed his eyes at him. “What?”

“It doesn’t matter to me if you know what you want or not.” Neil said, becoming more sure in what he was saying with every passing second. “I’ll be here whether or not you know and I’ll be here if you decide to go and play for Chicago or not. You aren’t going to get rid of me that easily.”

Andrew looked at him, his brown eyes wide. Neil looked back, keeping himself sturdy under Andrew’s doubt. So much of their time together was Andrew supporting him and keeping Neil afloat through the come down of a decade on the run. Andrew so rarely let Neil help him, so Neil was going to make sure that he did it right and did it well right now.

“I hate you.” Andrew said softly. “I hate you so much.”

“I know.” Neil couldn’t help the grin that split his face. “But I mean it. It might be tough but if you want to play Exy in Chicago, you shouldn't let me stop you. I’m not going to say that I like the idea of you being hundreds of miles away but we have phones and cars. And it’s only for a year. We’ve done much harder things.”

“You get antsy when I’m out of your sight for longer than a day.” Andrew pointed out.

“Yeah and you start to get worried if I don’t text you back within an hour.” Neil countered. “Both of us are walking piles of abandonment issues.”

“That is not a point in the pro column for this, Neil.”

Neil rolled his eyes and held his hand out. Andrew took it without hesitation and Neil’s heartbeat finally started to calm down. 

“I know it’s not, but I wasn’t going to let you use my issues to talk yourself out of doing something you want to do.”

“How do you know I want to go play your stupid stick game in a stupid city?” Andrew asked. “You’re not a mind reader.”

“Because if you actually didn’t want to, you would’ve thrown the contract out by now.” Neil pointed out. “I might not be a mind reader but I know you, Drew. I can guess.”

“You know what they say about assumptions, junkie.”

“You like my ass though.” 

“It’s fine.”

Neil snorted. “You’re full of shit.”

Andrew used his other hand to open the bottle of whiskey and take a long sip. He handed it over to Neil and he took a sip as well before screwing the cap back on. He flopped backwards onto the blanket and pulled Andrew down with him, keeping their hands clasped tight together.

The stars were beautiful. 

“I still haven’t decided yet.” Andrew later, as the cold of the night was finally starting to seep into Neil’s skin. 

“It’s still early.” Neil said. “Our season doesn't start for another few weeks. You’re probably going to get even more offers once it does.”

“Think I’ll get more than Kevin?”

Neil snorted. “I hope so. I wanna see the look on his face when you do.”

“I’ll make sure of it then.” Andrew let go of Neil’s hand to sit back up. “Come on, I’m getting cold out here.”

“This was your idea.” Neil said.

“Shut up.” 

Neil laughed and helped Andrew gather up their things. When they got back to the car and Andrew maneuvered them back onto the road, he rested his hand on the center console, palm up.

Neil took it with a smile. He didn’t let go the whole drive home.

**Author's Note:**

> (I’m also gonna pop this in my After series since that’s just a series about what I think happens after the books lmao)  
> follow me on tumblr and twitter @foxeshaveclaws


End file.
